Chapter 1

Summary

Wang Lung, a poor farmer in rural China, has recently
reached the age for marrying. His father wants to find him a suitable
wife and approaches the prosperous Hwang family to ask whether they
can spare a slave for Wang Lung. Wang Lung’s father insists that
the woman be unattractive. He worries that a pretty girl would have attracted
the young lords of the house and would therefore have lost her virginity.
Wang Lung sees the wisdom in this, but he demands that his future
wife at least be free of a split upper lip and pockmarks.

On his wedding day, Wang Lung meticulously washes himself. His
father complains at the unusual use of so much water. Wang Lung
is excited, though, and splurges, paying a man to shave his head
and face. He also purchases food for his wedding feast and incense
sticks for the gods. Nervousness assails him as he approaches the
House of Hwang. The rude, bawdy gate man forces Wang Lung to pay
a toll of a precious silver piece before he will allow him inside
the gate.

In the House of Hwang, Wang Lung bows before the Old
Mistress, who is smoking opium. The Old Mistress calls for Wang Lung’s
bride, who is named O-lan. O-lan is tall and sturdy, and her face
is smooth and brown. Wang Lung is disappointed that her feet are
not bound. The Old Mistress states that her family purchased O-lan
at the age of ten during a famine year. The Old Mistress believes O-lan
is a virgin. Before letting the couple leave, she asks that O-lan bring
her first child to see her.

On the walk home, Wang Lung carries O-lan’s heavy box
and purchases some peaches for her. When they reach the house, he
goes to the small temple on his family’s fields to burn incense
in honor of the earth god and his lady. Wang Lung’s father complains
about the expenses for the wedding feast, but he is secretly pleased
that there will be guests. O-lan prepares the meal, but she refuses
to be seen by other men until her marriage is consummated. Her modesty
and her good cooking please Wang Lung greatly.

Analysis

The first chapter of The Good Earth sets
up a contrast between the poor, simple Wang Lung and the wealthy,
powerful Hwang family. The decadent, opium-filled Hwang house is
also a warning and a foreshadowing of the pitfalls of wealth that
will seduce Wang Lung and his offspring. The Hwangs are a family
of moral decay and narcissism.

Buck contrasts Wang Lung’s knowledge of nature to the
Hwang family’s disrespect for their land. As a poor farmer, Wang
Lung has an intimate relationship with the earth: having no money
for workers, he must personally plant and harvest his crops, and
as a result, he spends a great deal of time in the fields, alone
with nature. His religion is based on worshipping the earth deity,
for whom he burns incense before the wedding feast. This offering
indicates Wang Lung’s recognition that the land is more powerful
than he is. Because of this recognition, Wang Lung is frugal, hardworking,
and modest. Conversely, because the Hwang family is rich, its members do
not personally involve themselves in the labor from which they derive
their riches. Instead, they hire laborers and buy slaves to work
for them. Hiring others to do their work means they have become
estranged from their land. The Hwangs worship wealth and the material
goods wealth can buy, rather than recognizing that their wealth
is derived from the land and subject to the land’s whims. For this
reason, they have become careless with their money. They occupy
their time with idle pleasures, spending money on expensive items,
such as rich foods, opium, drink, and women.